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Message of thanks from the Vice-Chancellor

Welcome to The Australian National University's 2016 Report to Donors.

The Australian National University is a resource for the nation and the world. We attract the best and bring out the best. And, as we work to fulfil our contemporary role as the national university in which we actively help shape Australia, our region, and the world, I am grateful for donors like you who support us on our journey.

Philanthropy is increasingly essential to how we as a community support our students, advance our research and further our international collaborations. The generosity captured in this report is of tangible benefit across all University functions and underpins the spirit of ambition, excellence, reconciliation and equal opportunity that characterises ANU.

In 2016, ANU was privileged to benefit from some exceptional philanthropy, including the inspirational expansion of the Tuckwell Scholarship Program by Graham and Louise Tuckwell. Worth about $200 million over 30 years, the program is Australia's largest personal philanthropic contribution to a university and exemplifies a new and world-leading approach to philanthropy.

Other instances of how generosity positively impacts our University include the ANU partnership with the Westpac Bicentennial Foundation scholarship program. Strong collaborations further our ability to take a national leadership role in shifting traditional approaches to both university-industry interaction and philanthropy.

Equally significant is the potential for future growth that donors can have in areas such as Indigenous reconciliation, as evidenced by the role that philanthropy plays in supporting the important work of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies.

I hope that you enjoy reading these examples of how philanthropy reflects personal meaning and fosters opportunities that then go on to change lives, change knowledge and change society. On behalf of the ANU community I thank you for your generosity and hope that you are inspired by this insight into the impact that you have had. All gifts - large or small - make a lasting difference.

Professor Brian P. Schmidt
Vice-Chancellor and President
The Australian National University